Learning to drive in France (When is a driving school not a driving school)

[zarathustra]

... When it has a fake license!

This regrettable story, has woken me up to the need for particular caution when in France. My wife is French, and we live in Paris, but she has never learnt to drive. I've encouraged her over the past couple of years to take up lessons (as we don't intend to stay in Paris indefinitely). There was a nice looking driving school just two minutes walk around the corner from where we live - a nice building, with dedicated study room, reception room, and all the bits and pieces, including printed name and sign outside, all in a nice part of the city. We went to see them, and they were very friendly, and when we decided to sign up we took a copy of their business registration with SIRET number etc.etc.

Knowing any company could face bankruptcy, we did opt to pay in three installments, so paid 500 euros, instead of the full 1500 for the full course, in one go, and for a short while , my wife went there to study the theory side of things with the DVD's they showed on TV. Then she turned up one evening, and the building was closed with a note on the door saying 'call this number...' Well we didn't get through to speak to someone, but eventually got through to one of the driving instructors who was employed by them, and who had also been fleeced and conned out of his wages. They'd actually sold their driving school business to somebody in the north of France some time ago, and were operating under fake details. The owner was having personal issues with his wife (whom he ran the company with), and put all the blame onto her, and she reportedly is the one going to jail for fraud. We went to police station (which is literally opposite the road from the driving school) - they'd heard about the problem, but sent us to the town hall. The lady at the town hall had said another student had been in that morning, in tears, as they'd reached the stage where they were going to take their test, and all their documents were locked inside this building. Without it, she could not take the practical test. The driving school still remains locked up, several months later, and it seems impossible to track down the original owner who took us for a ride (pun wasn't intended! :) ) I believe now all the blame has been laid onto his wife, he continues to run his other driving school business somewhere in the north of France under a different registration. You'll probably thinking the person who bought the business would have to now take on the responsiblity for the dodgy business he'd bought into it (which is what we had thought), but actually no; they're also operating on a different SIRET no. Next month we have a rendez-vous at the town hall, where I imagne we'll be told conclusively that there's nothing that can be done.

Anyway, I thought I'd retell my tale, as hopefully it will help others to remain cautious and suspicious, and even when somebody gives you official looking documents (whether it be a driving school or somebody else), it may pay to check those details a little further.

[Sunday Driver]

Why the need for particular caution when in France?  This sounds like the sort of situation that could occur anywhere.

You were aware of an established driving school that was based round the corner from where you lived.  You went round to see them, met the people, saw school cars outside, and were shown around the premises and the learning facilities.  You liked what you saw and signed up for the course.  You took the additional precaution of obtaining a copy of their business registration and checked the SIRET number to confirm that the registration was valid. Your wife was part way through her theory sessions when the school closed down.

What further checks would you have been expected to carry out? 

 

[zarathustra]

Perhaps so Sunday Driver, but I hadn't conceived that such things could happen, and I've never heard of it happening with a driving school in the UK.

What we could have done, is checked the SIRET number, to ensure they were a properly registered business at that address, and under that name. Asides from that, I don't think there's much else we could have done.

It wasn't so much the financial aspect that's peeved me, but the fact that the experience has now totally demotivated my wife to find another school and try again.

[quote user="Sunday Driver"]

Why the need for particular caution when in France?  This sounds like the sort of situation that could occur anywhere.

You were aware of an established driving school that was based round the corner from where you lived.  You went round to see them, met the people, saw school cars outside, and were shown around the premises and the learning facilities.  You liked what you saw and signed up for the course.  You took the additional precaution of obtaining a copy of their business registration and checked the SIRET number to confirm that the registration was valid. Your wife was part way through her theory sessions when the school closed down.

What further checks would you have been expected to carry out? 

 

[/quote]

[Kitty]

How terrible.  Something that I would never have thought could happen. Thank you for airing it so that we are forewarned.  Two of my children are learning at the moment but we weren't required to pay much upfront.  We only paid 50 euros for the first few months and then the balance in stages.

[Dog]

I would guess Sunday Driver was employed by the state in UK - perhaps in the Police Force or in a public service job.

The Police in UK enjoy enforcing laws that are nice and simple and make stealth taxes for their employers and pay them good bonuses for acheiving self imposed targets.

They hide behind the common good but real crime is often blue collar and they throw up their hands as this it is too difficult to police.

Notice the Serious Crimes Office rarely wins a case.

The Police love spending public money and yet ignore business criminality as it is too difficult for them to understand.

Blue Collar crime is far more costly than every day crime but is largely ignored.

[zarathustra]

Last week my wife had a meeting at the town hall. Ultimately (as we suspected), the only way to get the money back would be to send in a bailiff. Unfortunately the cost is too prohibitive, so there's nothing more we can do.

[Sunday Driver]

[quote user="Dog"]

I would guess Sunday Driver was employed by the state in UK - perhaps in the Police Force or in a public service job.

The Police in UK enjoy enforcing laws that are nice and simple and make stealth taxes for their employers and pay them good bonuses for acheiving self imposed targets.

They hide behind the common good but real crime is often blue collar and they throw up their hands as this it is too difficult to police.

Notice the Serious Crimes Office rarely wins a case.

The Police love spending public money and yet ignore business criminality as it is too difficult for them to understand.

Blue Collar crime is far more costly than every day crime but is largely ignored.

[/quote]

I don't know why you imagine I was employed by the state in the UK, or in the police force or in a public service job. I also don't know where you get your understanding of what blue collar crime is and why it should be more difficult and costly to police than 'everyday crime'....[8-)]

In any case, what's all that got to do with this event which occurred here in France?

 

[cooperlola]

Sorry, all, but isn't fraud a white collar crime, not a blue collar one?  I thought blue collar was a sort of US synonym for working class and white collar for professionals.

 

I do feel sorry for you, o/p - as is so often the case these things are far more stressful to deal with than to just ignore.  It's often easier to just write it off to experience.  I'm currently having a run-in with some builders (properly registered and apparently upright and honest) over a bill and am getting to the stage where I'll probably just pay up because fighting it is losing me sleep and my sanity (already not in the best shape as it was!)  Bon courage.[:)]